LAW: Welcome to Sue City, U.S.A

Very apposite to our discussion of tort litigation is an editorial titled "Welcome to Sue City,USA" (U.S. News & World Report, 6//16/03). The subtitle says:

"Litigation has become our national pastime, but it is fracturing our society. We must restore a sense of order and proportion." It takes up many of the topics we have discussed: "Every day, in America, someone pays a price for the enormous inflation of rights over responsibilities"

I have repeatedly said that the age of "uhuru" is over; we are entering a period when the sense of responsibility must prevail.I The article speaks of "doctors worried about protecting themselves from potential lawsuits"and cites a series of grotesque cases similar to those mentioed by Cameron Sawyer.